Peer-to-peer (P2P) technology presents an alternative to traditional centralized information systems because of their potential to scale to realistic sizes and their inherent fault-tolerance. In P2P systems, computers communicate directly with each other, rather than through servers that can become performance bottlenecks and single points of failure. Self-organizing P2P networks have proven highly adaptable to changes in network connectivity and resilient to node or network failures. While current P2P technology may provide scalable and robust distributed data object storage, current P2P solutions are not widely used due, at least in part, to security concerns. For example, P2P networks are generally used for freely sharing data, such as information or music. However, P2P networks generally do not provide needed security and access control with query functionality that is required for more sophisticated information systems.